Ukraine, DPR sign border demarcation agreement

The border demarcation agreement between Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has been signed, the Kiev-led anti-terrorist operation (ATO) spokesperson Vladislav Seleznyov said Saturday.

“Yes, indeed, such a document is signed, there is a tripartite group that is working, and its goal is to create all necessary conditions for demarcation of the parties that are involved in the conflict,” Seleznyov told Russia’s Dozhd TV.

Earlier on Saturday, DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko also said the agreement was signed, specifying that border demarcation between the Ukrainian forces and eastern Ukraine independence supporters would pass along the line of contact of September 19.

Started in mid-April, armed conflict in southeastern Ukraine has claimed almost 3,700 lives, according to the United Nations. During the meeting of a Contact Group on Ukraine held on September 5 in Minsk, pro-Kiev forces and supporters of southeastern Ukraine’s independence agreed on a ceasefire, which came into effect that same day. Both sides have since accused each other of violating the ceasefire, however, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe stated that the agreement was mostly respected.

Another meeting of the group held later in September resulted in a memorandum, specifying the implementation of the ceasefire. The document particularly includes a clause on the establishment of a 18-mile buffer zone between the Kiev forces and independence supporters.